SMS Latinoamérica: helping SMEs reach their potential

At SMS Latinoamérica we approach entrepreneurs and SMEs with the aim of helping them develop their businesses and reach their potential. As part of our philosophy that accountants can save the world, we believe that SMEs, entrepreneurs, and NGOs are key players in the economy of each country. There is no country that can develop without the development of its SMEs; they are the engine of growth for regional economies.

With this objective in mind, we provide consulting hours on the different aspects of companies, to find their weakest points which we can strengthen and improve, creating a positive impact on their development.

Although the Lat-Am region has a significant number of SMEs and NGOs, which makes it an interesting market, we believe that supporting them in their growth supports our own growth. Our focus is on SMEs, entrepreneurs and NGOs. We feel that we have a role in the transmission of our knowledge and experiences that allow these companies to improve their processes.

With these types of companies, consulting is essential to optimise processes and developments. These are companies that do not have the tools or the monetary resources to focus on issues that escape the day-to-day urgencies. That is why we developed an exclusive business area: "Mision Pyme", from where we offer packs of consulting hours and where our accounting professionals help business owners to reach their highest potential. The axes of this service are Finance, Commerce and Marketing, Enterprise Risk Management; Taxes; Costs; Quality and Production; Accounting and Administration; Human Capital; Communication; Technology and Sustainability.

On the other hand, and to attract entrepreneurs, we have also created a new business unit: SMS HUB, which is a co-working space, with the goal of functioning as a seedbed for all these start-ups, so they can empower themselves.

We can also utilise the expertise of our EDN SMS (Business School), that accompanies all the development processes; from training and keeping our work teams informed and updated (they are the ones who will then assist companies), but also for the general public itself.

This consulting service is essential for SMEs because it is accompanied by a suitable professional or expert in the field who can focus on what an SME owner cannot follow in the day-to-day whirlwind, because they must deal with strategy and management issues. Improving these aspects professionalises companies and helps them grow.

Professionalising these types of entities raises the bar for measuring and professionalising all companies and making them more competitive and sustainable.

Since 2022, SMS has been associated with IFR4NPO, an initiative to develop internationally applicable financial reporting guidance for non-profit organisations. We believe that this is an excellent opportunity to play a leading role -from our professional practice- in strengthening Latin American non-profit organisations.

Personally, I am very excited to participate in this project because having a global accounting standard designed specifically for NGOs will promote transparency and accountability, and facilitate the flow of finances to improve the quality of life and achieve a better relationship with the planet, especially in our region, which has such a large social and environmental impact.

Last year, we started developing a series of academic activities, through our Business School, aimed at professionalising and training small and medium-sized companies. Some of the courses created for this purpose were:

- Desafío Pymes, an overview of the challenges to achieve a macro knowledge of the key axes that the leaders of an SME must develop to have a complete vision of the business.

- Sustainable Management of SMEs; meetings that seek to provide participants with the main conceptual notions on sustainable development and its implications in business activities.

- Management of Sports Entities and Civil Associations: combines training in the areas of strategy, planning, accounting, communications and human resources, among others, which allow their concrete application on a day-to-day basis.

- Talent Management: capitalisation in the development of the Human Capital of each SME.

- Risk Management for SMEs: a workshop to identify the risks that impact SMEs in their finances, strategies, value chain and reputation.

Many of these courses and training sessions are currently ongoing and in development.

The demand is very high; there is an urgent need for SMEs and entrepreneurs to become more professional. In addition to training courses, there is a high demand for consulting services for this type of company. What is starting to boom is the coworking space; since it allows new startups to link with each other and generate networking, which helps them in their positioning at such an early stage of development.

It is often believed that sustainability is only for large companies, however, sustainability concerns all types of companies. It is just a matter of finding and thinking about the social and environmental impacts in which each company is immersed. In this way, and attending to the public interest in SMEs, we seek to generate self-discovery and management insight, so that SMEs can find ways in which to contribute to sustainable development.

For example, the younger generations are less willing to accept to accept products or services that are highly damaging to the environment, which is why it is vital to help SMEs rethink their purposes. Moreover, nowadays, there are many opportunities and tools for financing sustainable initiatives and this, without a doubt, is an essential core action that small companies should utilise to become more competitive.

Faced with new business scenarios, SMEs must take on the challenge of increasing their productivity amid the complex competitive terrain, generated by the elusive access to financing and the market with a restrictive demand, but also with a new complexity: technology.

It is not news, especially since the covid pandemic, that companies are working hard on the incorporation of digital tools and techniques to maximise their processes. Although most of these tools are available for all types of companies and are easy to implement, they constitute for SMEs a new element that must be addressed in the short term. Processes such as digital mechanisation, automation that optimises processes, times, services, and costs, information systems and the use of algorithms with an immediate return on investment; these are some of the main ideas that we try to transmit to our clients.

Today, we are interested in accompanying companies in the definition and implementation of their digital transformation strategies and in finding the right technologies for each type of business. Digital transformation is much more than the incorporation of technologies; it is a change of leadership and a different way of thinking about innovation, in situations in which the owner of an SME cannot stop.